Pope Leo XIV has denounced how nations are using force to assert their dominion worldwide, saying they are “completely undermining” peace and the post-Second World War international legal order.
In his most substantial critique of US, Russian and other military incursions in sovereign countries, Leo told ambassadors who represent their countries’ interests at the Holy See that “war is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading”.
Leo did not name individual countries that have resorted to force in his lengthy speech, the bulk of which he delivered in English in a break from the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic protocol of Italian and French.
But his speech came amid the backdrop of the recent US military operation in Venezuela to remove Nicolas Maduro from power, Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and other conflicts.
The occasion was the Pope’s annual audience with the Vatican diplomatic corps, which traditionally amounts to his yearly foreign policy address.
In his first such encounter, the US-born pope delivered much more than the traditional round-up of global hotspots.
In a speech that touched on threats to religious freedom and the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion and surrogacy, Leo lamented how the United Nations and multilateralism as a whole were increasingly under threat.
“A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies,” he said.
“The principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined.
“Instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion. This gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful civil coexistence.”
Leo did refer explicitly to tensions in Venezuela, calling for a peaceful political solution that keeps in mind the “common good of the people and not the defence of partisan interests”.
The US military seized Maduro, the Venezuelan leader, in a surprise night-time raid. The Trump administration is now seeking to control Venezuela’s oil resources and its government.
The US government has insisted Maduro’s capture was legal, saying drug cartels operating from Venezuela amounted to unlawful combatants and that the US is now in an “armed conflict” with them.
Analysts and some world leaders have condemned the Venezuela mission, warning that Maduro’s ousting could pave the way for more military interventions and a further erosion of the global legal order.
On Ukraine, Leo repeated his appeal for an immediate ceasefire and urgently called for the international community “not to waver in its commitment to pursuing just and lasting solutions”.
On Gaza, Leo repeated the Holy See’s call for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and insisted on the Palestinians’ right to live in Gaza and the West Bank “in their own land”.